Transplanting Roses
by Rurouni Idoru
Summary: Yusuke's managed to survive thus far, but now there's this new girl at school, and she's every bit as nitpicking as Keiko, if not moreso. On top of that, she's got this ego, and this masculinity...Is this girl going to drive Yusuke completely crazy? Duh!
1. The New Girl

Transplanting Roses  
  
by the Rurouni Idoru  
  
A/N: Now listen people, it may be confusing, but we oughta be glad I even got this far as far as writing Bara's story goes. I would much appreciate reviews and whatnot, and constructive criticism is the BEST thing you can give me. "Grandma's Evil Boot Camp" is, in fact, a dub reference, but I love that line so very much. It's set after Yusuke gets back from defeating the Four Saint Beasts. But before Yukina. Definitely before Yukina, otherwise, it'd make no sense. Bara's full name translates to "rose of insanity," and is my favorite character name to date. Mary Sueish or not, I dun care! *sticks out tounge* Oh, and "boku" is a Japanese word for "I," used mainly by young boys. It sounds rather...tough when used by women.  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho, this is how the story wouldv'e gone in the first place. Man I wish I were Naoko Takeuchi, then I could convince Togashi-san to rewrite the story this way. Or I could rewrite it myself, in Takeuchi-style. But I'm not. So there.  
  
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Life was good for Yusuke Urameshi. So far, he had managed to get through dying, stopping three thieves, "Grandma's Evil Boot Camp," and a fight with the Four Saint Beasts in more or less one piece. Suddenly, Keiko's constantly annoyed mood and all those gang fights seemed worthless and small, easily ignored. Well, the fights were easily ignored. Keiko's mood was just normal by now. He was actually happy to be able to cut class and go up on the roof again.  
  
'Yusuke! You go downstairs right now! You're nearly failing as it is! Not to mention the new student..." Ah, Keiko. Coming to drag him down the stairs again. Maybe he loved her. Eh, maybe. Maybe not. She tossed him into a seat as the bell rang. "You need a wake-up call!" So, how did she see his death? Hitting the snooze button?  
  
"...And as for the new young lady..." Yusuke blinked at the teacher.  
  
"New girl? We're gettin' a new girl?" Keiko rolled her eyes.  
  
"You don't pay attention to anything, do you?" Yusuke knew the answer, and he knew Keiko did too. Great. A new girl. Someone else to be terrified of him, and proud of Keiko's "bravery." Ha. Women were strange.  
  
"Come in, Hakkyouno-san." After the teacher spoke, two deep "clacks" accompanied the black, high-heeled boots that walked in. Attached to the boots were legs. Long legs. In violet-blue uniform pants. On top of them was a button-down, lapel-collar shirt with turned up sleeves. The color was the same as that of the pants. She was dressed in what was obviously a boy's uniform at her old school. Yusuke thought that if she wanted to dress like a boy, the shirt shouldn't have been so tight. One of the buttons was about to pop. Her arms were crossed, her hair was long and dirty-blonde. She had on glasses with gray-blue eyes behind them. She wore a mischeivious smile.  
  
"So? What are we all staring at?" The girl had a point. Everyone was, in fact, staring. Yusuke stretched.  
  
"Well, she's not normal."  
  
"Normal?" asked the girl. "Ha! Boku wa Bara. Nowhere near normal."  
  
"...Boku? That's a masculine way to refer to yourself, ain't it?" Yusuke had just unkowingly opened up a can of worms. Bara strated toward him, making a fist.  
  
"What's it to you, ya misogynistic sonova--"  
  
'Woah, calm down, I'm just sayin'." Bara made her way over to a desk, suspiciously eyeing Yusuke. "Most girls don't use 'boku.'" She smiled as she sat down.  
  
"I'm not most girls." Hoo, boy. She was bound to be a fun classmate.  
  
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At lunch, Yusuke was spending a little quality time with cigarettes on the school roof, when he heard it. The new girl's loud, obnoxious voice, coming up the stairs. He voiced his thoughts as soon as he indentified the voice.  
  
"Oh. Kill me."  
  
"So, what, everyone's afraid of him?" It was Keiko's voice that responded to Bara's.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Tch. Why?" Yusuke was anxious to hear this.  
  
"He's a good fighter."  
  
"Pfft. Bet I could whup him." Keiko giggled. Yusuke was quickly offended.  
  
"Oi!"  
  
"You probably could," Keiko started.  
  
"OI!" Yusuke was quite unhappy.  
  
"...But I don't recommend trying it." Well, at least Keiko had some faith in him.  
  
"Oh, now I gotta. Gotta try it now," Bara said. Yusuke could pretty much hear her huge smile.  
  
"Oh, don't!"  
  
"Not my problem. 'T's in my nature." The two emerged onto the roof, holding lunches and smiling.  
  
"Why are you up here?" Yusuke asked disgustedly.  
  
"Well, we were walking up the stairs, and this is where they led." Oh, Yusuke just loved Bara already. "I mean...duh. How'd you get into this grade, anyway?"  
  
"It's a beautiful day," Keiko said, "so I thought we should eat outside. I had hoped you would just go home to smoke, like you do all the rest of the time." Bara laughed.  
  
"Women," Yusuke muttered, and turned away.  
  
"So, Bara-chan,"  
  
"I prefer Bara-kun." Crazy masculine girl.  
  
"Okay, Bara-kun." Yusuke hated it when Keiko was sugar-sweet to everyone but him. "How do you like Sarayashiki so far?"  
  
"It's a lot like my old school--boring. And packed to the brim with people who don't know what they're talking about." That condescending little... "And, by the way, thanks for showing me around, Keiko-chan. I really appreciate it." Yusuke was filled with unexplained anger. Perhaps he was just used to combat mode by now.  
  
"This is sickening! It's like you two came up here to annoy me! First you're all, 'Yusuke, you suck,' and then you go all Sailor Moon 'I-love-everybody' on me! It's such crap!" Bara stood up. Wow, she was tall. A head taller than Keiko, if not more. Now that he was looking at her closely, Yusuke realized that she was nearly as tall as him. At that age? He'd never seen such a tall fourteen-year-old girl.  
  
"You think it's crap? Listen...Urameshi, was it? Well, listen Urameshi, that's why no one likes you." He opened his mouth, but Bara wasn't done. "You have no respect. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And no one likes that." Keiko sighed, knowing that this wouldn't end well by any means.  
  
"You think no one likes me?" It sounded like a challenge.  
  
"Keiko-san told me. Care to prove her right?" That sounded like more of a challenge.  
  
"You wanna go, let's go. I'd say ladies first, but since Keiko's got nothin' to do with it, you can start." The aforementioned "lady" had gone to get a teacher. Bara narrowed her eyes at Yusuke, and charged.  
  
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Keiko ran down the stairs and through the hallway. Most students eating in classrooms knew what this meant: Fight on the roof. Most likely involving Urameshi. Fights were the only reason she ever ran that frantically. Once Keiko ran past a classroom doorway, the inhabitants would pour out in the other direction, as if she were a beacon signaling a fire drill. Everyone was anxious to see the carnage. The floors above and below Keiko all recognized the commotion that signaled her run down the hall with news of a fight in her head. The halls were near empty when she reached her destination. She turned the knob and pulled hard. The door flew open, rebounding against the wall with a loud bang. She stood in the doorway, huffing and puffing. The man in the chair turned around to face her. She made one last struggle for air before speaking.  
  
"Takenaka-sensei!" she gasped. "There's a fight on the roof!" The room was empty before Takenaka stood up.  
  
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Punch, kick, block, dodge. Neither one of them would stay down.  
  
'Had enough yet?" Yusuke asked smugly.  
  
"You kidding? I'm just gettin' warmed up!" The two charged at each other again. By now, a crowd had gathered in astonishment. Yusuke was fighting, and it wasn't one-sided? Not to mention that it was no thug who challenged him, but instead the challenger was the new girl, with pretty hair and glasses! Everyone was sure they had entered the Twilight Zone. People were placing bets on the winner. Some went with Yusuke, given his past record. Others went with Bara, due to her firey resistance, and the fact that that button on her shirt had finally popped open. The challenger didn't have any reputation, she was just that tall new girl. That was what kept spectators. And spectators were what blocked Keiko and Takenaka. The stairs were clogged with eager adolescents trying to see the fight. They knew if Takenaka and Keiko got up the stairs before they did, the fight would last about five more seconds. But Keiko's shouts of "Excuse me" were too loud to feign ignorance around, and the two mediators got up the stairs more quickly than expected.  
  
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Keiko stood, staring. How did so many people make it to the roof so quickly? Such weight on it couldn't be safe. Where was Yusuke? She couldn't see around all these people. What had Yusuke done to Bara? What was with all these people?! Keiko had a mix of such thoughts and swear words running through her head. Finally, she said the dirtiest word that came to mind.  
  
"YUSUKE!" Her scream, however, was lost among the other voices. Yusuke was clinging to the fence like a fly on the wall. Bara made a "Ryah" noise and lunged at him. He scrambled further up the fence.  
  
"Urameshi...Yusuke...I could get you killed right now, yanno," Bara smirked.  
  
"Che, how?" Even when clinging to a fence for dear life, Yusuke was skeptical of his own defeat.  
  
"I could chase you off that fence. You'd plummet to your death. I got you out-foxed." She smiled and skipped away, just as Keiko finally escorted Takenaka through the crowd. Yusuke jumped off of the fence and watched Bara leave. the crowd quickly dissapated.  
  
"I hate that girl!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Takenaka began his sermon to Yusuke. Yusuke wasn't listening. "That wench cornered me! I hate that girl!"  
  
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A/N: A touching beginning, no? Don't worry, the next and final chapter of "Transplanting Roses" will be much shorter. Can we guess why I named it that? We better, it's a gardening term that even I know. That's EASY, folks. About Keiko and the swear words, I sorta see her as someone who's got a mouth like a sailor in her own mind, but never to anyone in actuality. Like me. Well, until I 'fic again! 


	2. Six Senses and Three Wheels

Transplanting Roses  
  
Chapter 2-Six Senses and Three Wheels  
  
By the Rurouni Idoru  
  
A/N Okay, before we get to the specialness, I would like to respond to the reviewers...er, reviewer. The answer was not intended to come in the next chapter, but here it is anyway. Bara managed to chase him onto the fence with an strong offense, increased by the psychological and offensive power one gains when one puts on black, high-heeled boots. Put 'em on, you'll see! Wearing those babies'll cause any guy to step back when a kick is threatened, much less actually attempted. Had it been the kind of fight YYH usually features, involving reiki and all of that, Yusuke would've won, at this point, and at all points after, actually. But Bara's...well, she's clever and imaginative. Or, you can just quote Bara's explanation...Well, anyway, before reading this, you oughta know that what happens in this chapter isn't just a fluke. Bara's sixth sense was fairly strong to begin with, and still developing. She could tell when people were watching her, and she definitely knew if there was something weird about someone, but her sixth sense isn't near as strong as her cousin's. Pretty ironic, since her cousin doesn't fight much. Well, on with the disclaimer. /blabbering  
  
Disclaimer: Didn't you read the last chapter? Like I said, if I owned Yu Yu Hakusho, it would've gone like this to begin with! So there.  
  
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Two weeks after the fight, people were still a bit scared of Bara, who was now wearing the standard Sarayashiki girls' uniform...with some customizations done in Home Ec. After all, she had supposedly "beaten" Yusuke. Her normally friendly attitude helped to win her a few friends, or at least stay in the same circles as Keiko. She tried her hardest to stay modest about her self-declared victory. Due to her fairly large ego, she failed miserably, but at least she tried.  
  
"Oh, it's not like I'm really any better than him at fighting," she would say, "I'd say we're pretty much equal as far as that goes. I'm just much smarter than him, that's all." Her cousin, Ai, who, unbeknownst to Yusuke until then, had also transferred to Sarayashiki, and managed to get into the advanced classes, was held now in high regard. Earlier, she had been picked on for "seeing things." Problem was, Yusuke saw them, too. Things like horns and tails on people. One such "person" was, one sunny afternoon, objectifying Ai. Ai quickly reported to Bara that, not only was he freaky looking, but a sleazebag. Bara was quite happy to help. At that very moment, Yusuke just happened to be walking by to watch Bara try to handle the demon.  
  
"Hi. I don't know you, and you probably don't know me. But my cousin says you suck, and being a violent feminist, I must agree with her. Sorry, I'm gonna hafta knock you out now." One angry punch from Bara was all it took before he was out. But this punch was certainly not normal. Halfway on it's journey to his mouth, it glowed brightly and developed a tail like a comet. After he fell, she stared at her hand, which had lost its light, and now only had a bit of red glow from the impact.  
  
"Son of a b...branch..." she said, trying not to swear in her astonishment. Yusuke couldn't care less bout her illuminating fist as much as the fact that she had just knocked out a Ningenkai-dwelling demon. Yusuke could only assume he had been a weakling.  
  
"Did you see that?!" cried Ai, in shock.  
  
"Well, yeah!" Bara and Yusuke chorused  
  
"The light...and the falling...and that guy..." Ai continued to yammer.  
  
"Why are you here?" Bara accusingly spat at Yusuke.  
  
"I'm walking, it's legal, I promise." He suddenly became mildly thoughtful. "Maybe I oughta tell Botan about this?..."  
  
"That was...My hand just lit up. Aiyaa," Bara said, puzzled. "I...Nani yo ka?!"  
  
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The next day, Bara was running late to school, because both her and her mother had accidentally slept in, due to a faulty alarm clock. On the drive to school, Bara caught something odd happening. A boy, rather short, with black hair that added about a foot to his height, dressed in black, jumped down from a tree, and gave Yusuke a video tape. Bara quickly decided that, being the nosy meddler she was, she had to find out what was going on. She noticed, during homeroom, that Yusuke was asking to watch the video at Kuwabara's after school. And so, it began. A legacy of Bara being a thorn in Yusuke's side. It started with a video, but it wouldn't end there.  
  
"Hey Urameshi, whatcha got there?" She had a cheshire cat grin taking up about half of her face.  
  
"None'a your beeswax!"  
  
"It is SO my beeswax! Gimme see!" Bara grabbed an end of the video and pulled.  
  
"'Gimme see?' Aren't you in that advanced grammar class or something?" Yusuke pulled back.  
  
"Yeah, I call it my reprieve from you!" Bara tightend her grip.  
  
"Yusuke! What are you doing with a video cassette in school?" Upon hearing Keiko's voice, Bara immediately let go of the tape. Yusuke landed on his derriere.  
  
"I love me so much." She said quietly. Yusuke got up, grumbling.  
  
"Others disagree..." Keiko seized Yusuke's ear. Bara started walking away.  
  
"Don't you know you'll get detention if you're caught with a video here?"  
  
"But Keiko, this is from that job I have. At Reikai?" Yusuke stressed the last six words, as if trying to make Keiko remember something. Bara jumped and wheeled around.  
  
"YOU?! Have a JOB?!" She smacked herself across the face.  
  
"See, now that was worth it." Yusuke was the one grinning now. Keiko sighed.  
  
"If it's important to your after-school job, then I guess you can keep it. Just don't get caught. What's Reikai, anyway? Oh, I guess that's the place you're working for, huh?" Yusuke was baffled. Perhaps Botan hadn't told her the whole story after all...But, that was a thought for another time. The bell had rung, and it was time to sit down and shut up.  
  
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After school, Bara had made up her mind to stop by the Kuwabara house and watch that video, whether she could get permision or not. She let herself in and stood next to Shizuru. Shizuru turned to Bara and opened her mouth, but Bara was not going to let herself be announced so quickly. Bara placed an index finger to her lips, then pointed at the television and continued watching. The more she saw, the more she knew that she had to help save this Yukina girl... Kazuma left the room valiantly, taking absolutely no notice to Bara, and barely any to Shizuru after getting bus fare, so Bara's cover was safe until the video came to a complete end. Bara wasn't sure what was going on. She recognized this "Hiei" as the boy who had delivered the video. Why a baby was giving orders, she didn't want to know. But she immediately decided one thing.  
  
"Well?" she asked. Yusuke jumped and fell over. Botan turned around sweetly, looking genuinely confused. "We gotta help her! It should be a crime to lock up something that sweet!" Yusuke's eye was twitching. Was this girl stalking him? "I have no clue what's going on, but I vow to help!" Yusuke quickly and brilliantly responded.  
  
"...Ah..."  
  
"Who's she?" Botan asked innocently. And so, Bara became an unwanted third wheel on the voyage to save Yukina. And the rest, as they say, is history. 


End file.
